Child of the Fox
by Jeralia
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki lost his parents at a young age, and after being raised by the Uchiha Clan and a fox spirit named Kurama, he finds himself facing a ninja war and past enemies unlike anything the world has seen. The guardians of the world, the Bijuu, search for their Jinchuuriki and prepare for a world war that will shake the foundation of the earth. AU retelling of Naruto.
1. Prologue: Kurama

**So here we go with another story. I finally finished the Naruto manga and decided to actually get involved with this fandom. This is going to be a much lighter story than my OHSHC one, but updates will be infrequent as always. I really should update the other one too. Anyway, this is an AU retelling of Naruto and Naruto Shippudden. Enjoy.**

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Prologue: Kurama

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A flash of fiery orange could only just be made out through the trees, something that few people would be able to easily spot in the darkness of the night. The creature itself made no sound as it passed, though a sense of unease quickly followed him as he moved quickly.

He was running with a purpose, determined that if he could do something to help, he would. The forest was far more silent than usual, and every being within was now silent, watching with wide eyes towards the sounds of a far off shinobi battle.

The man, for he certainly looked human, frowned as he noticed that the screams could be heard even here. He quickly picked up speed, proving once and for all that he wasn't a human. If he hadn't been in such a hurry, an onlooker might have seen his fiery orange hair that was cut short in the front with bangs fluffed around his head and a long braid running down his back that was about as long as he was tall. His eyes were red with slits in the middle, and his mouth clearly had visible fangs. His hands too had claws, and he didn't really look like a shinobi.

He wore a fiery orange battle kimono with dark black pants under it, with matching cloth black shoes. He carried no weapons, but had dark black markings on his face not unlike whiskers, three on each cheek.

A growl passed his lips as he continued on his way, his eyes glued ahead of him to the smoke rising from a village of ninja nestled quietly within his forest, because it was his forest. His presence was largely forgotten, but any shinobi that saw him would know to stay away. His very gaze screamed danger.

A dark black shape loomed suddenly out of the forest, above the place where he knew the village he was looking for was located. It appeared to be somewhat wolf like, but other than being pitch black and having white glowing eyes, it had no distinguishing features. It was huge, and largely powerful, a cheap knockoff of creatures like him created by Kami knew what. Still, he couldn't help but snarl at it as he spotted it.

If he had been able to take his true form, that thing would have already been dead. How dare it attack his village? But he hadn't had a Jinchuuriki in years and there was no way he could defeat it as he was now. The ninja in the village themselves should have been able to mostly defeat it, but there was no telling what it would do before it was brought down. The male quickly changed his path to dash towards the area the beast was attacking and being attack from.

He soon caught sight of Konaha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves as it was called by the ninja, or shinobi who made up much of the world's military power. It, like many other villages now, were under attack by these strange creatures.

They were created by someone trying to mimic the Bijuu, which were thought by most humans now to be nothing more than legend. They were true living creatures though, spirits or demons, depending on who you asked, who were the guardians of the shinobi world as it had been created.

This man was really a nine tailed fox spirit known on as the Kyuubi, though his name was Kurama. He was often thought to be the herald of war or an omen of it, but he was the protector of the Fire Country and the Village hidden in the leaves. This Bijuu, like its brothers and sisters, was a massive creature that was immortal. Myths of all of them could be traced back to the Sage of the Six Paths and the creation of this world of ninjas.

There was no question as to why the Bijuu was enraged when it saw the shadowy being, a Yamikami if he remembered this particular one being called before. It was an imitation of the power that the Bijuu held. But there was also a reason why the Bijuu were thought little more than myths.

They could only achieve their true forms by partnering with a human child, part of a jutsu used on them that sealed them to human kind so that the Bijuu with all their terrible power, couldn't run wild. These human children were called Jinchuuriki.

Each Bijuu had ways of recognizing when someone could be a Jinchuuriki for them. This allowed the Bijuu to travel near humans, access all of their power, and give power to their Jinchuuriki so they could stand on equal terms with them.

After the First Great Ninja War however there were few people left who could have the ability. For Kurama, the ability had only been passed down eventually through two clans, the Senju and the Uzumaki. Eventually, only the Uzumaki clan had continued to use the power, which is why fox spirits known as Kitsune and even regular foxes continued to appear around them as they grew.

Fearing their rumored powers and their long lives the clan had been all but destroyed. The only remaining member was a woman who came to the Leaf Village. Kurama had followed her, hoping to aid her, but even she wasn't quite strong enough to be a Jinchuuriki. He could tell though that soon a child would be born who would have the ability.

He would only have to wait until then. Now however, with the village under attack, he had been forced to help fight to try and save some shinobi. He was the guardian of the Fire Country after all. But it had been quite a while until he had been able to actually go towards the village.

He could only pray he wasn't too late as he dashed onwards through the trees, changing shape as he did so. Humans were often scared of his beast like human form, so he settled with turning into a tiny version of his true form.

His back legs were bent at odd angles, giving him the ability to stand with his back legs, and his front legs were extra long and had thumbs, giving him arms. His fur was a fiery orange color, and his eyes were red with slits in the middle. His mouth never truly closed, revealing large fangs on his face.

The lips surrounding those were black, and he had black running from his eyes through his strangely long ears. If those features weren't enough to tip someone off that he wasn't a regular fox, he was the size of a large dog and had nine thin tails that lashed the air like flames.

He was quick on all fours, and his black nose led him onwards towards the battle. Luckily for him, his powerful chakra had transformed the kitsune here to look like him over time (though with various colors and markings) so he seemed completely unassuming for the area.

Kurama found a somewhat familiar scent hit him and paused, torn between going towards the massive monster which was obviously in some considerable amount of pain from the attacks of the shinobi trying to defend the village, and towards the woman, Kushina, who he knew was nearby. She was the last of the Uzumaki line, and he could definitely smell blood on her.

Finally he decided that the creature had already almost been defeated and he couldn't do much in this form anyway. He turned and ran straight towards the woman's scent, snarling silently as he also caught the smell of blood in the air. As he reached the area, he paused.

It had been blasted by something big, and the area was smoking and desolate. The small pond that had once been here was now gone, as well as the trees and any animals in the area. Around the smoldering crater, blasted trees could clearly be seen.

Obviously new to the area and some time after the explosion was a body. It was a man wearing a white cloak with red fire on the bottom and blonde hair. Kurama remembered him as the Forth Hokage, who had probably done quite a bit of damage to the Yamikami and had died for it. He bowed his head slightly to the man.

Next, Kurama noticed the woman. She was a pretty thing and pale, wearing a green dress with a white blouse under it. She was covered in blood, and her violet eyes and fiery red hair didn't seem quite as lively anymore. She looked beyond exhausted and was obviously injured, but her eyes flicked towards the Bijuu who was standing there. Tears welled up in her eyes as she reached her hand towards him, and he ran to greet her.

Her hand trembled as she ran it over his head, but he didn't mind. He quite liked humans actually, and especially those of the Uzumaki clan. She seemed to relax just slightly as she saw him, blood dripping slowly down her chin. He didn't even glance towards her chest, where it was obvious that she had suffered a fatal wound. A frown touched the fox's face as he sadly looked at the woman. Was this the end of the Uzumaki clan?

"N-Naruto," she whispered slowly, making the fox tilt its head. "P-Please...you...have to...my son..."

A son? That's all Kurama had to hear to start moving, placing his nose to the ground and using his canine sense of smell to locate any scents that were similar to these two (since the woman had married this man) but different. That would be the son. Besides the fact that it meant that, if the child was alive the Uzumaki clan wasn't finished, Kurama just loved children and wouldn't let any harm come to one if he could help it.

Finally picking up on a faint scent from the man's clothing he began to trek into the forest again in another direction, following his nose. The animals that called this place home were still silent, and the area was blasted beyond just a few year's repair, but he could still catch the faint scent, growing steadily stronger. Kurama was no dog, but he prided himself on being the Bijuu with the strongest sense of smell.

He paused and his ears flicked as he picked up the sound of an infant wailing. A baby? From what he could tell it couldn't be that old, an hour at most at this point. Was that why Kushina looked so exhausted? No doubt it was why Minato, the late Forth Hokage, had been so desperate to at least wound the creature. Hearing the sound made Kurama pick up the pace, dashing into a small hut that had been partly destroyed.

It was a miracle the baby was unharmed. Other than being tired, hungry, and scared, the child seemed all right. Kurama quickly crossed the room to the squirming bundle on the floor, peering down into it. The child was still naked, but since the battle had begun there had been no time to dress him.

He had rather pale skin and bright cerulean eyes which were filled with tears as he cried. His hair, like his father's, was a bright blonde, but what surprised Kurama the most were his birth marks. On either cheek was three whisker like markings.

Kurama felt a spark of excitement as he reached down, poking the child gently with his nose. He felt a spark run through him as he did so, he he smiled. So this was his new Jinchuuriki? He could sense it just from the simple touch.

The child could obviously sense something as well because his crying immediately ceased and he looked up with large and wondering eyes. Suddenly the baby giggled and began to reach for the fox's face. Kurama just chuckled as the child grabbed his fur and tugged. It hurt, but he didn't resist him.

"What a cute little thing," Kurama said in a deep and rich voice. "You're Naruto Uzumaki, huh?"

The baby of course couldn't respond, but Kurama didn't mind. He closed his eyes and sent the boy a little of his chakra, easing the boy's hunger and fear a little. It wasn't much, and the boy would definitely need to be fed soon, but the child stopped crying and even giggled as Kurama licked the tears away from his face. They were salty and bitter, but even this immortal Bijuu couldn't resist an adorable baby.

Naruto yawned adorably and rubbed his eyes with his tiny fists, and Kurama quickly noted how cold it was outside. The large fox jumped into the cradle with the boy, which was rather small. He managed to curl up around the boy without squishing him and then laid his nine tails (which were now still, though not relaxed) over him to help warm the baby.

Naruto yawned again and turned, curling up against the fox and grabbing a fist full of his soft orange fur before closing his eyes and falling asleep. Kurama just sighed as he laid his head gently on top of the boy's.

"You don't even understand what a terrible birthday you've just had," he said quietly to the sleeping infant, who didn't respond.

Kurama just continued to frown and listened carefully, making sure to be ready to move the child if there was any sign of danger. After several generations he'd finally found another Jinchuuriki, and with the way things were going, the Bijuu were severely needed at this point.

He wasn't going to let anything lay a finger on this kid if he could help it. His red eyes almost seemed to glow in the darkness as they watching intently, severe and challenging anything to try and harm the boy.

After a long while, he heard the Yamikami begin to let out shrieks of anguish that indicated that it was finally dying. Kurama bristled and snarled savagely, hoping they gave the creature a painful death. How many shinobi had sacrificed themselves so that others could survive the attack?

How many children had lost their parents just like this little one here? A deafening crash could be heard as the creature fell finally, dying outside of the city it had hoped to destroy. The infant began to shift and wake, but quickly calmed and fell back asleep as the fox gently licked his forehead.

 _At least this nightmare's over,_ Kurama thought. _But I can't keep him out here forever. I'll have to take him back to the village when its safe._

Kurama didn't want to try moving the infant now. What if whoever had been controlling the Yamikami was still around and tried to kill the boy? What would the villagers do in response if they saw him? Usually they would probably assume he was a kitsune because of the number of tails, his appearance, and his size, but if they were scared they might just assume the worst and attack him. As he found himself wondering what to do however, his ears flicked up at the sound of approaching shinobi. Kurama began to bristle but didn't move.

"Is this it?" a female place gasped. "Its been destroyed!"

"This is where Kushina said she left Naruto," a male voice replied. "Do you hear anything?"

"No," the woman said. "its quiet. Come on. Hopefully he didn't get hurt. Kushina said something about a kitsune."

"Could a child have slept through something like that?" the man asked.

The woman didn't reply, but it was obvious that she didn't have to. They were nervous, and for some obvious reasons. No doubt the village was pretty much in a state of panic after the attack, and they had found their Hokage and his wife dead outside of it. Then there was the fact that if anyone knew about the baby after such a short period of time they were terrified that he had been killed too. No doubt the people needed some good news right now, especially their friends.

The man and woman came in, obviously both belonging to the elite Anbu Black Ops. They were wearing all black, including vests and cloaks with hoods. Both of them had black hair that hung fairly far down and the man's was braided and shorter than the woman's. The woman had a white mask that resembled a leopard with red markings around the eyes and spots and the other had a mask that resembled a wolf with red markings around its eyes and a swirl on its forehead.

The two froze when he raised his head to look at them, carefully surveying them. The village hidden in the leaves was well known for having kitsune nearby. They could be tricky creatures, but were usually very calm and helpful at heart though they were pranksters.

They didn't want to make him angry or receive any of his powerful chakra, though it was obvious they couldn't tell exactly what he was or they might have run away if they thought they had angered him. He finally nodded to them silently, letting them know that he was fine with letting them be here, and the two carefully crept forward, letting out relieved sighs when they saw the tiny child gripping his fur tightly. The woman carefully counted his tails before looking up again.

"Hello, old one," she said calmly. "Thank you, for taking care of the child."

"Unfortunately our village fell under attack," the man continued. "We were nearly sure that all of the kitsune had died, but we're happy to see that even one survived."

Kurama simply blinked at the two. Is that why it was so quiet? Come to think of it, he hadn't seen any kitsune around on his way here, and they would have been helping the people if they could. The woman carefully stepped forward, reaching to take the infant's hand and pull it as gently as possible away from the fox's fur. Once that was done she reached down to pick up the infant, and Kurama leaped out of the way to let her. She wrapped the child in the blanket and carefully cradled the sleeping infant in her arms.

"I'll go with you," Kurama suddenly said, surprising the two Anbu. "I promised the child's mother I would protect him."

It was a flimsy excuse, but he doubted they would question him for what his real motives were. They were elite shinobi who had no doubt come across many kitsune in their travels. Obviously, he wasn't one, but they expected that he would be one.

So they thought he followed the same rules. They expected him to keep his secrets and have his own ideas as to why he wanted to follow them, as well as why he wanted to be near the child, so he didn't have to explain to them. They both just simply nodded to him.

"The village is in chaos, old one," the man replied. "But you're free to come."

"Call me Kurama," the fox said quickly. He was practically immortal, but he didn't want to be called old all the time. He had his pride.

"As you wish," the woman said softly.

The two shinobi were gone in a flash out of the room, and the Bijuu quickly followed, able to sense the boy's presence and now acutely aware of where he was when he wasn't too far away from him. He was able to quickly catch up to the two even though he was still in his smaller form.

He wanted to keep some of his secrets in tact after all, and wouldn't be showing his human form to these shinobi anytime soon. Even so he was quick in his "kitsune" form and he soon caught up with them as they made their way to the village.

Kurama quickly recognized the front gates of the village, or what had once been the front gates. Now there was a small crater and injured and dead ninja everywhere. Kurama couldn't help but growl a little as he looked at the destroyed village. The two Anbu paused a moment, bowing their heads a little as they looked at their fallen comrades.

A chilly wind blew across them, making Naruto squirm a little and tossing the fox's fur around his face. Wolf (since Anbu were called by their masks) patted his head a little, which he tolerated. Leopard carefully shifted Naruto before continuing forward towards the Hokage's office. Kurama dutifully followed.

The village was in chaos. Crying children, injured and dead ninja everywhere, families calling out to each other and hoping for the best or preparing for the worst. The Anbu and shinobi still able to move were dashing every direction and hoping to ease the burden of whoever was now in charge here. Kurama's ears twitched unhappily at the thought of it all.

The Hokage's office was the center of activity, and no one even glanced more than once at the huge fox with nine tails. After all, kitsune had begun to look like him some time ago and seeing one with nine tails was rather rare, but not unheard of. They lived on average about two human life times each life and could be reborn up to nine times, gaining a new tail each life.

The two Anbu quickly leaped up and into a window, and the fox was quick to follow, his eyes trained on the sleeping baby in the woman's arms the whole way. It wasn't that he particularly didn't trust her, but he didn't want to let the fragile little package get hurt. This was the first Jinchuuriki he'd met in a long time, and he needed the little thing to grow up if there was going to be any hope for them. He could tell something big was coming.

The two Anbu and the fox soon arrived in the Hokage's office, which had only a few people within it. Most of them were Anbu, and a few were heads of various clans. The clans heads here were the Akimichi, Aburame, Uchiha and Hyuuga clans, who jumped at the appearance of the two and looked ready to attack. They relaxed, though with some surprise, when the saw the two Anbu and a Kitsune appear. An old man turned around and blinked at them.

Kurama had never met the heads of the Konaha clans, and especially not the four noble ones, but he did however know most of their names. The head of the Aburame clan was Shibi, a man who wore mostly gray clothing with a high collar, had short and spiked black hair and a mustache, and hid his eyes behind dark goggles.

The head of the Akimichi clan was named Chouza. He was a rather large man with long red hair, blue eyes, purple marks on his cheeks, and wore armor reminiscent of a samurai. Next to him was the leader of the Hyuuga clan, Hiashi, a man who was tall and slender with long black hair, wore all black, and had eyes that reminded Kurama strongly of pearls.

The last man was the head of the Uchiha clan, one that Kurama was familiar with. It seemed to be a rather cursed clan that was fond of revenge, though he had hopes that this generation would turn out differently with the correct push. His name was Fugaku, who was rather tall and had short black hair, dark black eyes, and a rather stoic expression. He was looking at the infant with a rather sad and worried expression.

The old man was actually the third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had no doubt stepped back into leadership after the death of the forth. He had dark skin riddled with spots and wrinkles that revealed much about his age. His eyes were a dark brown and he had white hair and a white goatee. He sighed and attempted a smile as he turned to the Anbu and inclined his head slightly to the fox.

"Ah," he said. "Leopard, Wolf. What did you find out?"

"Its as we feared," Wolf said with a slight sigh. "The Forth Hokage has passed in trying to injure the beast and protect the village. His wife, Kushina Uzumaki also perished."

"However," Leopard continued, turning the baby so they could all see. "We did find the child, Naruto Uzumaki. With him was this kitsune, whom introduced himself as Kurama."

"Ah," the old man said sadly. "I see. Today is a terrible day indeed. At least Naruto survived, though I shouldn't be surprised. The Uzumaki clan has always been closely tied with foxes."

"This makes him the last member of his clan," Hiashi said.

"A large burden for such a small child," Shibi added in his quiet manner.

"We'll have to find him someplace to stay," Chouza suddenly added. "His parents were both heroes to the village!"

"I can arrange for him to have a place to live," Sarutobi replied. "Of course, we wouldn't charge him for it seeing as-"

"No wait," Fugaku said suddenly. "If no one has any objections, I would like to take him in."

"The Uchiha clan?" Hiashi asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. "This isn't like you, Fugaku, and certainly not like your clan. Why?"

"Minato was a good friend of mine," the man explained with some sadness in his voice. "And Mikoto was a good friend of Kushina's. I feel it would be a disgrace to them to not allow their son a good upbringing."

"It sounds to me like you simply want more power," Hiashi growled slightly, obviously angering Fugaku. "Why would the Uchiha clan be so interested in something outside their own walls for once?"

"I'm the head of the police force in Konaha," Fugaku growled. "What more power do I need?"

"For once," Chouza said, laying a hand on Hiashi's shoulder. "I have no problem with agreeing with Fugaku. The boy needs to be raised right."

"Indeed," Shibi said simply. "Your dislike for the clan blinds you."

"Hiashi," Sarutobi said suddenly. "I understand you have your reasons for disliking the clan, but for once let Fugaku win. The Uchiha has only shown us loyalty for generations. Forget the past and let it go. He is not Madara."

The name seemed to put a new chill in the air, and every shinobi tensed at the name. Indeed, even Kurama had heard the terrible things he'd done and bristled a little. Yes, he had helped found Konaha and eventually by extension the rest of the shinobi world. But that one man, the founder of the original clan, had dragged the clan's name through the mud for so long that it had left a scar still obviously seen by today.

"Fine," Hiashi seemed to relent, though reluctantly. "I'll allow it if the others do as well."

Chouza and Shibi both nodded, so Leopard handed Fugaku the boy carefully. Fugaku was very gentle with the boy, and simply cradled him in his arms. Kurama could sense that the man was already a father, and probably had a child of his own, if not more. He wasn't as nervous as a first time father and didn't seem to mind the others watching him. Seeing that the tiny package had been transferred, Kurama took a step forward and simply sat down in front of the man, looking up at him with calm and calculating eyes.

"Kurama?" Fugaku finally managed.

"Where the boy goes, I go."

The shinobi all seemed a little surprised by this, but other than nodding they didn't seem to respond much to it. They weren't going to ask why he had come to this decision, since they obviously thought he was a kitsune (an old one at that) and they were sure he was very smart for having survived so long. In reality, he was much older than any other fox spirit, not that he was really going to tell them that though.

Fugaku simply nodded to the group and then carried the baby outside the office and carefully back into the tired and worn streets. Kurama quickly ran to catch up to them, making sure to keep the sleeping infant in his sights at all times. The man was very careful with the child though and each step he took made him look even sadder.

Kurama could definitely believe that he had been good friends with the Forth Hokage. He could tell with the way he just seemed to grow even sadder as they continued on their way, and the way he often glanced down at the sleeping infant as if to prove to himself that the child was fine. But Kurama also noticed a deep loneliness in the man's eyes.

That and his pain only grew the farther they went, and Kurama soon realized why. The Uchiha named had been dragged through the mud so much, that they had practically been thrown to the side of the village. People often didn't like their police force, and having it be the Uchiha clan was worse because even after so many years no one really wanted to trust them.

At the edge of the village, in a place far less destroyed than the others, was where the Uchiha clan's complex was. They were easily one of the largest clans, if not the largest clan in the village, and they didn't have a mansion but several in a small area that was almost like a town within the village hidden in the leaves themselves. Kurama couldn't blame the man if he wanted to take some extra power for himself. Kurama wasn't fond of the past Uchiha leaders either, but this kind of thing only made him shake his head. Only humans could be this stupid.

"We're here," Fugaku said quietly to Kurama. "Um, Kurama-sama, where would you like to stay?"

"Kurama is fine," Kurama replied. "and I'll stay with the boy. I'm not picky where."

"I see," the man said. "I'll show you to my house then, since you'll be staying there. Now, I have to give my wife the unfortunate news."

Kurama could see the man's face draw slightly back in more pain. This obviously wasn't going to be easy for him, but he quickly made his way inside anyway. There was a tall, thin and beautiful woman inside, with long black hair, pale skin, and gray eyes. In her arms was an infant that was pale with black hair and dark black eyes, which were blinking sleepily at the man.

The woman gasped as she leaped up, handing the infant off to his older brother, who couldn't be older than six at most. He was also pale, with longer black hair tied behind his head except for part of his bangs. His eyes were dark black like his father's and he had lines on either side of his nose. He carefully held his baby brother as the woman ran to her husband. She stopped short though and looked down at the infant in her husband's arms.

"Wh-What is…?" the woman asked.

"Mikoto," the man said slowly and carefully. "This is Naruto Uzumaki. The Third Hokage has given us permission to raise him."

"But what about the Forth?" she asked in confusion, dread beginning to settle over her face. "And Kushina? What happened to them?"

"They're dead," the man said bluntly. "So I decided to adopt the boy. I can't let my best friend's son be raised by strangers."

Mikoto stared at her husband for a long while, then finally sank slowly down to her knees and silently cried, holding her hand to her face. Fugaku knelt down beside her and showed her the infant again, which she carefully took and cradled in her arms, crying softly into Naruto's chest, who finally woke and blinked up at the woman. He giggled and reached for her face, which only made the woman cry harder, though she smiled too.

"He's beautiful," she said. "Kami, Kushina would have loved to have met you. Do you think she did?"

"I believe she did," Kurama said, finally breaking the silence. "She sent me to find him after all." The woman jumped but smiled as she saw him.

"Ah yes," Fugaku said, trying to be strong for his small family. "This is Kurama, who would like to remain near Naruto."

"Of course," the woman said with a shaking voice.

"Mama," the older boy in the back called. "Why are you crying?"

"Itachi," Fugaku said, motioning the boy and his younger brother over. Itachi carefully carried the other infant closer. "This is Naruto, who will be your new baby brother from now on. He lost his parents, so be kind to him."

"I thought Sauske was my little brother," the child said in a rather innocent way.

"Of course he is," his mother said with a smile. "You just have another one now too. You'll be a good boy and look after them both, right?"

"Yes mother," the boy said, blinking in surprise at the giggling baby. He then smiled at him though as he saw the blonde laughing.

Kurama glanced up at the woman again, seeing her smile falter as she saw her son's smile. Tears were still rolling down her face as she saw it, and he could only imagine what she was thinking right now. He could tell that he had been extremely close to Naruto's mother, as her husband had been with the boy's father.

But she was still a mother, and like all mothers she instantly set about putting her sons to bed after the eventful night, all three of them. She was going to make sure that they were all well taken care of before she let her grief control her for a while. She settled the two infants down in the only crib she had (seeing how she had only expected one infant) and then quickly hurried her eldest son off to his own bed.

Kurama jumped up into the crib and curled up around the two infants silently to guard them. He could tell by looking at both of them that they were going to one day be great shinobi. He wasn't entirely sure how, but he knew that these two were going to shape the history of this world. And he was going to make sure that they lived to do just that. Besides, they were just adorable.

Both infants grabbed a fist full of fur and snuggled closer to the fox, sleeping soundly again as his sensitive ears could clearly hear the sound of the woman crying quietly in another room. It was obvious though that the sound could be heard by the eldest boy, who soon crept into the room with the two infants and the fox.

He didn't say anything, but the fear in his eyes told Kurama all he needed to know. The child was scared from the events earlier and wasn't sure how to react to hearing his mother crying in another room. So he curled up with a blanket and pillow in the corner of this room with his two younger siblings. Maybe he wanted to protect them, or to assure himself they were fine. Or maybe he sensed something about the fox and wanted to feel safe himself.

For all Kurama knew, it could have been all three. Kurama let some of his chakra leak into the air, which quickly seemed to calm and relax all three children. Within a few minutes though the boy became comfortable enough to sleep and was soon lightly snoring in the corner. The fox smiled a little as he laid his head back down carefully on Naruto's chest, closing his own eyes and hoping to get some sleep.

Today had been one eventful day.

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 **And there's the prologue. Time skips will be a bit frequent at the very beginning of this story, but that'll just be until we actually get to a point where we can continue the main story about where the original starts off. BTW, expect characters that should be dead or should be evil to pop up in different ways in this story. I'm having fun with it.**


	2. Chapter One: Sasuke

**Ooh look guys, an update that didn't take years in the making! As I said before, I update at rather odd intervals, so don't expect updates every day. I have a busy life, so I'll update when I can (when I have inspiration, time, not too much stress, etc.). comments like "please update soon" can really annoying really fast if I can't update at the moment, so please keep those at a minimum. I actually have the will power to update this story right now, so it'll get updated a bit at a time.**

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Chapter One: Sasuke

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The blonde dropped heavily onto his side with a grunt, earning yet another giggle from his black haired "brother". Kurama couldn't help but chuckle a little as Naruto picked himself up off the ground and glared at the Uchiha. It had been quite some time since Naruto had first been brought to the household and begun living with the head of the Uchiha clan. Both infants were now seven years old, and Itachi was now thirteen.

Itachi had excelled in everything he had done, and now he was a member of the elite Anbu Black Ops for the village, oddly enough with a weasel mask, which always amused the fox to no end. The younger two children were making leaps and bounds as well, just not quite a the same speed as their oldest brother, which frustrated both of them. Even so, Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha had become best friends and as practically inseparable as twins.

The two had recently joined the Ninja Academy, where Sasuke, being the more driven of the two, had quickly learned many of the things needed to be taught. Naruto (to Kurama's eternal annoyance and amusement) was far more lazy when it came to that kind of thing. He was just as good as Sasuke, if he ever really applied himself. But right now he seemed far more concerned with Sasuke than he was with himself.

Sasuke was constantly chasing after his older brother's shadow, trying to gain his father's approval, but he didn't seem to be doing so well, which was discouraging him. Kurama on the other hand, knew the boy's father was constantly talking about him and Naruto, and how proud of both of them he was. The two boys didn't know this, and often felt overlooked by their family, which prompted the two of them to stay very close together.

Naruto had a good heart, and he knew that he wasn't truly part of this family blood wise. He wasn't expecting his father to ever really approve of him because of that. So he was focusing all of his attention on Sasuke instead, trying to help him improve and learn the fireball jutsu that would make him be considered an adult in his clan.

Most Uchiha wouldn't learn the jutsu until around the age of thirteen, though Itachi had learned it at around this age and graduated the academy around the same time. Sasuke wasn't quite that gifted, but he was definitely way better than any other kid in the clan around his age. Naruto, not being part of the clan, was already technically considered an adult in his clan's laws because he had already made a pact with a "kitsune" that would help him fight.

Kurama had been careful to teach Naruto all about his clan, and had already begun teaching him techniques known only to his own clan. Sasuke knew this as well, and had been more than excited to have his best friend help him on his goal to become an adult in his own clan. Their classmates mostly ignored Naruto, thinking he was lazy and undriven, but that was far from the fact. Kurama kept Naruto moving constantly and the boy rarely complained. After all, the fox had pretty much helped to raise these two boys.

Now he was carefully watching as Naruto stood again, facing Sasuke and nodding to him as he saw him prepare to use the fireball technique again. Kurama was here to use his chakra to dispel the jutsu if the young Uchiha actually managed to do it, since he was aiming at Naruto. While Kurama definitely wanted to keep his Jinchuuriki safe, he knew he couldn't protect him like he was that helpless baby anymore. Now he was going to have to start fighting for himself. He was just here to make sure nothing got out of hand.

"Remember Itachi's tips, kit," Kurama called from his perch in the tree. The young Uchiha nodded.

"I'm not going to hold back, Naruto," Sasuke called with a small smile. "So don't get caught in my fireball."

"You've got to make one first," Naruto teased with a smirk.

Sasuke scowled, but Kurama could tell that it wasn't like he actually wanted to hurt Naruto, more that he was annoyed with him at the moment. Then again, it was Kurama's experience that siblings always acted like that, pushing each other's buttons but best friends until the end. Sasuke quickly made the hand signs again, raising his hand to his mouth as he took a deep breath and eyed Naruto, ready to unleash the fires within his body.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique," Sasuke called.

Kurama leaped down from the tree as soon as he noticed that this one was different from the times he had tried before. This time as he exhaled, a giant fireball flew from the boy's mouth, between his fingers, and towards Naruto, who yelped in surprise. Sasuke's joy at doing the technique was soon swamped as fear came over his face when Naruto didn't move. Kurama couldn't help but chuckle as he jumped between the fireball and the boy. They were the ones who insisted on using Naruto as a test dummy for it.

Kurama raised all nine tails and shot his chakra straight through them into the fireball, instantly dispelling it since it was so low level at this point. Both boys let out a sigh of relief, and Naruto stood from where he had fallen in surprise and brushed himself off, grinning widely and giving Sasuke a huge thumbs up.

"You got it," he said. "Good job, Sasuke."

"Thanks Kurama," Sasuke sighed with a smile, though looking a little exhausted as well.

"You're welcome," the fox replied. "Now, follow me, kits. Sasuke's tired from all this training, and its time for a story."

The two children quickly followed after the fox as he leaped forward towards a wall that would lead them out of this part of the forest and back into the Uchiha compound in the village. Kurama had made sure to tell them all sorts of legends and such (or at least what humans now thought of as legends, seeing how they were so short lived) so they would be better prepared with knowledge outside of the world they knew. The more lessons he taught them through these stories, the better. And the two loved hearing his stories.

The two children hurried back to their house and quickly leaped towards their room, yelling a quick hello over their shoulder to their mother, who could only smile at seeing the two of them beaming so brightly. She was so happy to see that they were so excited, and she already had a good idea of what their father was going to be told when they got home. They were quick to dash into the small room in the back of the house that they shared, where Kurama sat down on their bed and turned to them expectantly. The two children crossed their legs and turned to look at him.

"Very well," he said. "Today, I think I'll tell you a story of Madara Uchiha."

"Dad said we're too young to hear that," Sasuke reminded him, raising a brow to him.

"Sasuke," Kurama said with an indulgent smile. "Today you learned the Great Fireball Technique, marking you as an adult in the clan. And Naruto has already been an adult in his clan for quite some time now. I do believe that makes you old enough."

"Yeah," Naruto ecclesiastically agreed. "We're old enough!"

"But that's not the only reason I'm telling you this story," Kurama replied. "I'm telling it to you so you'll understand why you Sasuke, as an Uchiha, must always be on guard."

"On guard for what?" Sasuke asked.

"Yourself, kit."

Kurama frowned a moment as he thought back on one of the founders of the very village where these two children sat now. Madara Uchiha was practically the founder of the clan, and it made things even more difficult for many generations after his death. Fugaku seemed to be the least like him of any clan head Kurama had seen so far, but even these two children were seeing the effects that man had against all of them. The fox sighed.

"Once," he began. "Long ago. Madara Uchiha and the First Hokage had been fighting each other. The era was known as the Warring States Period, where Shinobi first began to rise into power as their country's military might. The two men longed to create this village, where children could grow up and not have to fight in wars. However Madara had his own secret plans."

"What did he do?" Sasuke asked, seeming a little unnerved by the fox's tone.

"Yeah," Naruto added. "Everyone talks about him like he was so evil, but if he wanted to make the village, how could he be evil?"

"Madara was a tragically broken man," Kurama replied. "As children he and the First Hokage were forced to fight in a war against each other. As Madara grew he wanted to protect his last remaining little brother, but in the wrong way. He grew obsessed with power, and he was never satisfied with his lot in life."

"Why not?" Naruto asked, both children looking at him with rather innocent and perplexed eyes.

"I'm not quite sure," Kurama replied honestly. "They say that he was unhappy with the way the Senju clan was treating the Uchiha clan, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He staged a civil war against the village and brought ruin and war back upon the city. Many people died because of this, and it took a long time to rebuild."

"And that's why people don't like us?" Sasuke asked.

"Exactly," Kurama replied. "Madara was obsessed with power, with revenge for his younger siblings long after the war, so much so that he wanted another war and began seeking suffering. His own clan disowned him after that, and he became the village's first missing nin. After that, no one saw from him again, though he's long dead by now."

"Then how is it the clan's fault now?" Naruto demanded, huffing indignantly at the thought.

"People fear another Madara," Kurama explained patiently. "They fear that someone else so thoughtless would rise up and take control. The world's been at peace here for a long time. They don't want to see another Uchiha so full of darkness and a need for power. That's why the clan is supposed to be cursed, because many have followed after Madara before. Humans are so forgetful though. If they could see why they did, perhaps they wouldn't be so scared."

The two children didn't move, looking more and more unnerved by this simple tale, but wanting to hear more at the same time. That's what he loved about these children. They didn't want to just listen, but learn from him. They looked at these as more than just stories, and took what little they could understand as young as they were from these stories. Then again, many humans no longer seemed to look at these old stories anymore, and if they did it would make things so much easier on all of them. But as he said, humans were forgetful.

"Saw what, Kurama?" Sasuke finally asked.

"They way they have truly pushed the Uchiha away," the fox replied. "They have turned them into law enforcement, which is an honorable job, don't get me wrong. But people often dislike the police, thinking there is more to be done, or things are done that shouldn't have been. They pushed you into the farthest reaches of the village, far away from anyone else that could see your pain. Its no wonder why the Uchiha are unhappy."

"But dad's not like that," Sasuke cried in defense of his family. "And neither is Itachi! He's an Anbu!"

"That's true," Kurama said with a small smile. "But people are still afraid of you and heritage. Sasuke, Naruto, no one can ever know how they're truly react when something terrible happens. But I'm telling you now that hate isn't the answer. I should know."

At this point Kurama paused and sighed sadly. The two boys however were not stupid and were very tuned to him at this point after living so long with him. He wasn't one to give away secrets or really talk about himself at all. However the two boys knew when he wasn't happy or even when he was upset, and he would always make an exception for them.

"Kurama?" Naruto asked. "What do you mean?"

"When I was young," the fox began, careful to word his statement. "I had a human I cared about greatly. He was killed in battle, and I grew angry. I attacked a human army, nearly destroying them. They wounded me and I was forced to leave and hide. I had my revenge, but I was known as a being of war and malice after that. I realized far too late that it wasn't an answer to anything, and I felt horrible for having done it. Believe me, kits, nothing good comes from revenge."

The two boys nodded seriously, but Kurama could only smile sadly at them. There really was no telling how they would react if there was ever a point where they could choose revenge or another path. He could try and steer them down the correct path all he wanted, but there was really no way to know if they would be swayed by darkness. Still, he was glad that they at least promised now that they'd try to do so. Kurama's ear twitched though as he heard the door open.

"Sasuke, Naruto," their mother called. "Come here for a minute."

The two children shared glances to one another, wondering who it could be that their mother was calling them to come see, but they made their way to the front of the house as quickly as they could manage. Kurama was quick to follow, making sure to remain close to Naruto and Sasuke as he had since the day he had first met both of them.

In the front of the house were two ninjas that were some of the most familiar to Kurama after all of this time, a male and a female. The man had obviously suffered some terrible injuries, but his life had been saved. His right side was covered in scars and the right side of his face had lines as if it had been twisted badly. His left eye was covered in an eye patch that came down from his headband. All of his clothing was navy blue to match it, though his right arm was uncovered by any sleeve. He had short dark black hair and dark black eyes.

The woman was a very pretty medical ninja with shoulder length brown hair, light brown eyes, purple fang like marks on both cheeks and her headband on her forehead. She wore a light brown dress that still allowed her movement in battle. She smiled at the two boys as she held onto one of the man's gloved hands in one of her own, completely unafraid to show how much she obviously adored the man. The two kids smiled brightly.

"Oh," Naruto called. "Uncle Obito and Aunt Rin! How are you?"

"We're not married yet," Rin giggled. "But we plan on it soon." At that Obito turned a bright shade of crimson and found floor very interesting.

"What are you doing here, Uncle Obito?" Sasuke asked.

Kurama knew that Obito and Sasuke were only loosely related, but the two boys were very fond of him and his girlfriend Rin. Rin, as always, noticed Kurama chuckling at the response and hurried over, reaching down and patting his head as she smiled. Kurama liked humans enough to allow them to pet him, though sometimes it did hurt his pride a bit. However it was also an easy way to earn the trust of humans and let him stay near his young Jinchuuriki. He purred to her and she happily returned to her future husband's side.

"A-Ah," Obito Uchiha said nervously. "Well I'm heading out on a mission in about an hour, and Rin and I decided to stop in. Sorry if its an inconvenience, Mikoto. Is Fugaku in?"

"Oh," their mother said. "No, he's still at the office. Do you need to talk to him?"

"No," Obito laughed. "Its nothing important. How have you two boys been? Have you been behaving Kurama and your mother?"

"Yes, Uncle Obito," the two intoned.

"Good boys," Obito said with a smile.

"Usually Kurama takes care of them," Mikoto explained with a smile, that soon fell. "Why are you two so filthy?"

"Oh yeah," Naruto exclaimed happily. "We were training! Sasuke's learned the Great Fireball Technique!"

"Has he really?" Obito asked with a smile. "Mind if you show me?"

The two boys grinned and ran outside of the house and into the street. Rin, Mikoto, Kurama and Obito all smiled and followed the two energetic boys outside, where many of the other Uchiha members all paused and turned to look at the boys with some amusement. There was no question whether or not these two were the pride of the clan when they saw them. Everyone paused to turn to look at them as Sasuke found a small pond not far from the main estate.

He faced the water and concentrated a moment, before making the hand signs quickly and taking another deep breath. It was obvious that he was nervous, but he was concentrating hard to prove that he could do it. Everyone watched, Kurama calmly and Naruto with a huge grin on his face as Sasuke released the technique over the water and through his fingers.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique," Sasuske announced as he used the jutsu.

Many people gasped and applauded as the huge fireball flew out over the water and crashed into it, sizzling out harmlessly. Sasuke smiled and turned back to his "uncle" and "aunt", who were smiling and laughing for the boy's success. Rin clapped happily as Obito ran excitedly forward and bent down, scooping the tiny seven year old up into a hug.

"Your father and brother will be so proud," Obito cried. "Too bad Itachi's with the Anbu and won't be back for a while. Fugaku won't be able to wait to see this! He'll be so proud!"

"You think so?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course," Mikoto replied. "Why, whenever we're alone you're all he talks about. He'll have even more to brag about now!"

The grin that spread over Sasuke's face was contagious to Naruto apparently, who was grinning even wider than his brother was. Kurama couldn't help but smile as well. Those two boys were such good brothers, and it made him happy to see them smile. He'd almost forgotten how much he absolutely adored being around children, as annoying as they could be. He knew that these two were going to grow up to be amazing Shinobi.

"Obito," Rin called reluctantly. "You're going to be late."

"Oh," he sighed. "Right. Well, good bye for now boys, Mikoto. I'll be back in about three days or so, be good until then. I'll be sure to bring you something back, all right?"

"Bye, Uncle Obito," the two chimed politely, but with big grins as the man ruffled their hair and then stepped back.

Mikoto escorted her children back inside as Rin and Obito quickly left the area, heading off deeper into town where they'd be able to go in separate directions to prepare for the rest of their night, whatever they'd be doing then. Kurama quickly followed, seeing that the woman was so happy for her son's accomplishment that she'd made a small cake in celebration, even being sure to let Kurama have some of course for helping.

As much as the fox enjoyed a delicious treat, he found himself not that interested in it as he ate. Something was wrong, buzzing in the back of his skull like a warning bell. He could tell that something wasn't right, considering the fact that he'd always been able to sense evil intent. Naruto's bond with him was still too weak for him to notice it, and it was rather far away, enough so that Kurama wondered for a moment if he was just being paranoid himself. He soon decided that it was better if he played it safe though. Before he could raise his head to give some kind of warning, he was interrupted by the door opening.

"I'm home," called a tired voice.

Fugaku looked far older than he had ever seemed to Kurama suddenly, and the fox wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing. He managed a smile when his two sons laughed and bounced happily over to him to greet him, pulling him over to the table where they made him sit down. Mikoto also smiled and gave him a piece of cake, which he looked down at with perplexed eyes.

"What's all this for?" he asked.

"Sasuke learned to use the Great Fireball Technique," his wife explained. The man's face immediately lit up and life seemed to return to him.

"Did you really?" he asked. "That's great. I knew you could do it. Ah, but a son of mine would be that talented, wouldn't he?"

Sasuke's smile was huge now as his father laid a hand on his head and proudly but tiredly smiled. It would have been the perfect family moment, except that Kurama was still getting a bad feeling. Suddenly, the feeling from before tripled to a point where he was suddenly standing and grizzling lowly, daring something to come out. Both boys froze, never having heard him make that sound, but their parents jumped up and grabbed weapons quickly. Their mother's eyes were now flaming unlike anything Kurama had ever seen.

"Go boys," she ordered. "Go hide, now. Kurama, take them. Keep them safe!"

Kurama didn't need to be told twice and whirled around, grabbing Sasuke's sleeve in his teeth and dragging him off towards their room. Naruto, stunned and confused, quickly followed the creature as Kurama knew he would. The boy didn't understand their connection as Bijuu and Jinchuuriki yet, but he was going to follow him since Kurama had invited him to with a quick stab of his chakra. He brought the two boys into the room and quickly changed into his human form.

The two boys jumped yet more, having never seen the man standing there now, but they were smart and didn't ask questions. Obviously they recognized him, so he closed the door and quickly picked up the two boys, taking them over immediately to the bed farthest from the door. He quickly hid Sasuke behind the pillows and made it look as natural as possible, then put Naruto in front of him. He could feel both boys trembling.

"Listen," he said quietly. "Someone's coming, and they want to kill all the Uchihas. So stay quiet and stay right there. I'll keep you safe."

Kurama leaped down, turning back into his fox form as he did so, and he glanced back. Naruto, understanding what all of this meant for his brother, scooted as far back as he could to hide his brother. He could see Naruto visibly trembling, but at least Sasuke was quiet and out of sight. He could save them both now if they stayed like that. He hoped suddenly as he looked back towards the two boys that he was wrong about all of this.

He quickly bristled though when he heard breaking glass and yelling from the other room. He didn't even bother to try and listen to the words, just snarling and getting ready to destroy anything that came through that door if it tried to hurt those two kids. He heard the two whimper quietly in fear and confusion behind him, but he flicked his tails and all three of them fell silent. Thankfully the boys were able to understand when he wanted them to be silent.

Suddenly after a scuffle there was an unearthly silence, broken only by the fall of something heavy and the sound of someone weakly begging someone to do something. It was so quiet that even Kurama had difficulty hearing it from this part of the house. He dug his claws into the ground and bared his teeth, all nine of his tails whipping in the air with agitation. Kurama didn't know much, but he suspected that someone in the village hated the clan enough to actually try and eliminate them, yet didn't want to destroy all of them. Obviously Obito and Itachi were both on missions right not, conveniently out of the way, but would the kill the children?

The sound of someone approaching through the house could be clearly heard, though outside there was undoubtedly more people attacking and screams could be heard all throughout the estate. Too bad the Uchiha clan was so far away from anyone else. By the time anyone even realized that there was anything going on out here it would be far too late to undo what damage had already been done. Kurama snarled and tensed as the door slid open.

It was a young man wearing a mask like the Anbu Black Ops. Instead of being white with red markings however, it was black and not shaped like an animal with purple markings. He looked up and noticed Naruto and the snarling fox, pausing in the door. However he pulled out a kunai and leaped at the bed, tossing Naruto to the side and reaching for the young Uchiha hidden behind the pillow, who let out a strangled gasp.

Kurama leaped onto the man's back in a second, ripping into his skin with his long claws and fangs, making the man scream and leap back, probably not expecting the fox to protect the boy. It farther proved to Kurama that they were from the village. These two kids had been rarely seen outside of this compound and he was only ever seen around Naruto, so they didn't know that he loved both of these children deeply.

The surprised man leaped off of the bed, away from the snarling fox who stood in front of the two boys grizzling out a warning to him. Naruto bravely put himself back between his wide eyed brother and his attacker, a scowl forming on his face. The boy didn't know it yet, but he was already beginning to react to Kurama's own anger, which kept him from being afraid right now as he probably should have been at this point.

The man pulled out two kunai and turned to face the fox, his back and shoulders now practically shredded. It was obvious too that he was nervous of the "kitsune", not entirely sure what he was actually capable of or what he planned do actually do. Before the young man could react though Fugaku, looking rather furious, appeared and quickly launched a jutsu at the man. Kurama leaped back to shield the two boys.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The surprised man couldn't even dodge and was quickly screaming as a ball of fire on the floor. Both children flinched as they saw it, but Kurama raised his tails and used his own chakra to dispel the man's chakra on the fire, quickly smothering it though he wasn't touching it. The heat and corpse still remained though. Fugaku quickly collapsed, gripping tightly and a wound that was in his side. The two boys gasped again when they saw it.

"Kurama," he said quietly. "Please, save them."

Kurama turned into his human form quickly and leaped over, grabbing the two boys, one in each arm, and leaped to the door of the room. He paused there and looked down at the desperate man, the stench of blood in the air becoming slowly more unbearable for the fox's sensitive nose. The man's wound wasn't that bad, he could survive if he got help soon. The odds of that happening weren't very high though.

"D-Dad," Sasuke managed quietly. Fugaku just smiled weakly.

"I'll be fine," he lied. "Just go. Behave for Kurama, all right?"

Neither child responded, but Kurama nodded his head to the man and shifted his hold on the two boys carefully so he wouldn't accidentally cut them with his claws. He turned before the man could say anything that could make this harder on the two of them, leaping them out the back door and as far away from the sounds of screaming and attacks that could be heard. Fire was now rising over part of the compound, alerting someone to the fact that something was wrong.

Kurama leaped into the forest as quickly as he could, taking the children farther than their usual training point just in case someone came out here looking to try and kill Sasuke again. He was much faster than a human and covered the ground far faster than the two children could in any case. He could feel both of them clinging to him and burying their faces into his clothing, as if it would help hide reality for a few minutes. Of course, it couldn't, but he wasn't going to say anything to the two of them right now.

Finally he found a small cave, probably the cave of a bear for its winter hibernation if the scent and hair scattered about were any indication. Kurama leaped as far into the back as he could manage, setting the two children down, who had yet to let him go. He quickly returned to his fox form, knowing they were scared and weren't going to let go anytime soon. He was faster in this form and could get out of their arms if he needed to protect them.

It was relatively silent here, though his ears could still pick up the sounds of screams and attacks from here. The noise was slowly dying down, as much as that put his hair on edge, which meant that the attack was coming to a close. Kurama didn't relax though, and brought his body as close to the children as possible. It was a chilly night out, and he didn't want to leave the two traumatized children right now if he could help it.

Exhausted, they were soon curled up against him and asleep, not that he could blame them. He didn't try and move them either as they continued to shake a little as they slept. He could feel tears sliding down their faces as they clutched to his fur. No one was coming out towards their little hiding place, but he wasn't going to take chances and go to sleep right now. The sun had set some time ago, draping the forest in darkness, which he was glad for.

He could hide these two much better if they weren't visible to human eyes. Still, he hadn't wanted to see if either of these kids would hate someone yet, but he supposed he was going to find out soon enough. Who could have done this? Surely not Sarutobi, seeing as he was so kind to the Uchiha clan. Kurama's mind immediately began to suspect Danzo (the senile fool who would do anything to become Hokage) and his Root. Root was supposed to be a kind of special, elite version of the elite Anbu Black Ops, rarely seen and heard, run by Danzo. He couldn't think of who else could wear masks like that and be such a problem.

His ear twitched when the sound of someone approaching quickly could be heard, and he began to snarl angrily as the person halted nearby in surprise when the sound woke the two boys and they gasped fearfully. The person carefully inched their way forward towards the sound, kneeling down and peering inside. Kurama's growling paused as she recognized Hiashi.

The man's eyes were wide as he peered at the fox and the two children clinging to him. Surprised but looking relieved to have found anyone alive at all, he turned and called over his shoulder. Kurama huffed a little indignantly as he saw the lines around the man's eyes and the difference in their look from before. So he was using his clan's Byakugan?

"I've found two," he cried, and suddenly there were more people appearing suddenly, all talking quietly.

"Who is it?" a woman asked quietly.

"Sasuke and Naruto," Hiashi replied, stepping back to allow the woman forward.

The woman was Rin, who gasped and ran forward, kneeling and getting as far into the small cave as she could. Kurama could see tears falling down her face, and her hands were covered in blood. She was a medical ninja, so she had been probably been trying to save the lives of the Uchiha clan. No doubt she was relieved to no end to find her young "nephews" alive and well.

Upon seeing the woman, the two children seemed to relax a little. They didn't start crying or anything, which seemed to concern the men and women outside. Kurama could understand why they weren't though. This kind of tragedy had seemed completely impossible in their young minds, and there was no way they hadn't seen at least some of that massacre. No doubt they were in shock, and they'd been forced to grow up suddenly in one night. They blinked a little at Rin, as if asking themselves if she was really there.

"Its okay," she said, more to herself than them. "Its okay. Come here, Sasuke, Naruto. Come to Aunt Rin."

Slowly the two children let go of Kurama's fur and stepped forward towards the woman, who scooped them up immediately into her arms, kissing both of their foreheads and holding them to her chest as she silently cried. Kurama followed them out and noticed various Shinobi, most from different clans from all over the village, all shaking their heads sadly at the two shocked children. Naruto and Sasuke just stared at them.

"At least one member of the clan here survived," a woman said quietly. "Poor things. How much did you think they've seen?"

"Enough," a man replied. "I can't believe it. The Uzumaki and Uchiha clan, destroyed? It doesn't seem possible..."

"Rin," Hiashi said quietly. "Could you… look after them? They don't need to go back and see that. I think they've already heard and seen enough?"

Rin immediately nodded and tried to put a smile back on her face as she cooed at the two softly and took their hands in her own. They didn't seem to notice the blood staining them, or the way her smile was now forced. Kurama however did notice the way that Hiashi Hyuuga's face was tightly drawn and pained. He had always been one to dislike the Uchiha clan and even say that his good friend was wanting nothing more than power. It was a bad stereotype that had unfortunately been all but erased this night.

Obviously it was haunting the man. Kurama had heard often how Hiashi and Fugaku had been good friends growing up, but leading two of the Noble clans of Konaha had all but destroyed that relationship. No doubt the man was thinking of all of that as he looked back at the place where his good friend most likely lay dead. Kurama knew all too well how terrible it was to say or do something and see too late that you regretted it.

But right now his duty wasn't to this man, it was to those two distraught boys. He wanted to protect this village, but right now he was completely powerless. He wouldn't be able to help anyone if he didn't get his power back, which meant Naruto had to grow up to be strong. It sounded selfish, even to him, but it couldn't be helped. It didn't stop a snarl from touching his face however as he turned and leaped after the two children.

But he couldn't keep his eyes off of Sasuke either as they made their way through the streets, passing curious and frightened onlookers. Some of these were children that Naruto and Sasuke went to the Academy with, not old enough yet to understand the severity of the situation. Would the young Uchiha fall to the "curse" of the clan? He hoped not. It would make things far more difficult than they already were now.

* * *

 **So there's chapter one. Basically, as I said, some people that should be dead won't be, and more along that lines. In the next chapter we'll learn some interesting information. A lot of Oc's will be involved in this story since its an AU retelling with a lot of the character's places shifted completely around. As you can see, no Jinchuuriki to manipulate to destroy the villages means that Rin never died (though Obito still survived the boulder which I'll explain later and gave his eye to Kakashi.**

 **Rin is around, as is Obito. Itachi didn't murder his own clan but Danzo's still an ass hole. Gaara's going to be different too. Basically, a lot of weird changes have been made to the story line that will make this story not like the original. Have fun with that, and right now you can be confused as to why Rin and Obito are around (yes Kakashi still has the Sharingan).**


End file.
